The very instant the Gale Falcon staggered and fell,

Golden Needle Technique!

Shen Changchuan fought through the piercing pain in his head, forcing the Magical Power in his Dantian to surge. He activated the Golden Needle Technique, sending two Golden Needles flying out, one after the other.

The Golden Needles shot forward like bolts of thunder, their speed reaching an absolute extreme. The onlookers only saw a flash of golden light streak past their eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the needles were upon the Gale Falcon. They carried a terrifyingly potent force, piercing the air with a momentum so dreadful it could have punched through a wall of solid steel!

However, just as danger struck, the Gale Falcon, keenly sensing the threat, instinctively swung its wing. It unleashed an incredibly sharp Wind Blade that spun rapidly, slicing through the air and viciously striking the Golden Needle.

DING!

A crisp clang of metal on metal rang out.

A powerful force exploded outward, sending ripples of air blasting in all directions.

The Golden Needle, imbued with immense power, was sent flying by the strike.

But in that same instant, the terrifying power within the Golden Needle erupted. The Gale Falcon’s wing, as sharp as a blade, was knocked aside. Its body stumbled back involuntarily, leaving it wide open.

And just then,

the second Golden Needle, following close behind, seized the opportunity to strike.

It struck the Gale Falcon squarely in the leg.

PFFT!

Blood sprayed as feathers as hard as steel scattered everywhere.

The Gale Falcon let out a sharp, agonized cry.

It seemed to sense the grave danger it was in.

Ignoring the pain in its leg, it instinctively beat its wings and shot into the sky like an arrow, disappearing beyond the heavens in the blink of an eye.

On the ground, only a scene of devastation remained, with feathers and blood scattered all around.

All of this may have taken a while to describe,

but in reality, from the moment the Gale Falcon dove from the sky to when it was ambushed by Shen Changchuan and finally fled, wounded, only a dozen breaths had passed.

Not far away,

some color returned to Shen Changchuan’s pale face as he finally caught his breath.

’It ran away...’

Shen Changchuan gazed toward the horizon where the Gale Falcon had vanished, his expression showing no joy. Instead, a trace of hidden worry flickered across his face.

’In this battle, I used nearly every trick I had, and I even had the element of surprise from my ambush. But in the end, all I managed to do was injure the Gale Falcon!’

’Fast! That Gale Falcon is just too fast! Its flight speed and attack speed far surpass that of an ordinary Qi Introduction Middle Stage Cultivator. Even a Qi Introduction Late Stage Cultivator might not be able to keep up!’

’If not for the fact that the many types of Magic I’ve mastered have reached the level of Perfection, allowing me to cast them instantly with just a thought, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even have the right to stand before this Gale Falcon!’

’Truly a creature that even Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Late Stage Realm would struggle against.’

As he pondered,

Shen Changchuan glanced at the Soul-Attracting Bell in his hand.

A feeling of helplessness flashed through his mind.

’This Magical Artifact is powerful, no doubt. But when used to attack an enemy, it also inflicts a certain amount of backlash on the user’s Divine Sense. Although this impact is only about ten or twenty percent of the attack the enemy receives, it still exists, and it significantly affects me during combat.’

Shen Changchuan didn’t understand the principle behind it.

He could only attribute it to the fact that it was a special Magical Artifact designed to attack the Divine Soul.

’It’s only natural for it to have its own peculiarities.’

’It makes sense when you think about it. If such a powerful Magical Artifact didn’t have any drawbacks, the world would probably be flooded with them.’

’What a pity.’

A faint look of regret appeared in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.

The backlash from activating the Soul-Attracting Bell with his full power was certainly unpleasant.

During the fight just now, after fully activating it against the Gale Falcon, Shen Changchuan himself was immobilized for several breaths, which allowed his opponent to seize the opening and counterattack.

’Otherwise, the moment the Gale Falcon was stunned, I could have launched seven or eight Fireball Techniques in a row. That would have been enough to either kill it or severely injure it! That would have finished it off completely.’

But unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world.

’However, if I were to practice some kind of Cultivation method that strengthens the Divine Sense, or consume some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures that augment the Divine Soul, would that be enough to suppress the Soul-Attracting Bell’s backlash?’

An idea stirred in Shen Changchuan’s heart.

New possibilities began to form in his mind.

’With the progress bar panel, I can pay more attention to these aspects in the future.’

"Changchuan, we won! This is fantastic!"

"Now that the beast has been driven back, we can save all the remaining Spirit Grain!"

Just as Shen Changchuan was lost in thought, reviewing the battle in his mind,

nearby, Han Qinhu picked up the Golden Needle that the Gale Falcon had knocked away and handed it back to Shen Changchuan, his face beaming with unconcealable excitement.

He had every reason to be happy.

The terrifying sight of the Gale Falcon’s first dive attack was still vivid in his memory.

Its speed was practically invincible, so fast they couldn’t even catch its shadow. If it had attacked them, it would have killed them in a single breath—a massacre with no chance of survival.

How could they possibly have fought back against that?

Han Qinhu had already braced himself for the creature to run rampant, causing disastrous losses to the twelve acres of Spirit Fields.

But he never expected his own grandson to suddenly pull out some unknown Magical Artifact and knock the beast right out of the sky.

Although the series of clashes that followed was perilous, the final result was that the creature fled, wounded and defeated!

Han Qinhu had been worried about how they would manage the thousand-jin tribute of Spirit Grain owed to the Shen Family after the Gale Falcon had ravaged the Spirit Fields.

But now, aside from the nearly ten jin of Spirit Grain the Gale Falcon had devoured at the beginning, almost everything else had been saved intact!

For a man approaching sixty,

it was an emotional rollercoaster of epic proportions!

"We can only say this Chapter is closed for now. We can’t say we’ve won yet."

Shen Changchuan was very calm.

He shook his head slightly,

taking the Golden Needle from Han Qinhu.

The Golden Needle, as thick as a finger, was now bent at a visible angle in the middle, and its entire body was dim and lusterless.

It was clearly and utterly ruined.

Shen Changchuan sighed internally.

’The two Golden Needles... before this, they were my most lethal trump card, my secret weapon. They served me well on many occasions. But now one is ruined, and the other is still lodged in the Gale Falcon, carried away with it.’

’This battle... was far from satisfactory.’

"We failed to finish it off; we only managed to force its retreat for now."

"If it returns for revenge after its wounds heal, things will be even more troublesome."

Demon Beasts...

...are generally more intelligent than ordinary beasts.

And they hold grudges.

Just like that Crocodile Demon he had slain in the river.

’If the Gale Falcon comes back for revenge after it heals, and I still don’t have a way to deal with it, that will be a huge problem. After all, the beast is incredibly fast, and it flies, giving it complete air superiority. It can come and go as it pleases.’

’Moreover, after being ambushed this time, the Gale Falcon will almost certainly be wary of the Soul-Attracting Bell. The next time I use it, the effect probably won’t be as good as the first.’

"Alright, Grandfather, have them finish harvesting the Spirit Grain first. We can talk after."

Seeing Han Qinhu’s expression change to one of worry,

Shen Changchuan waved his hand, signaling him to take care of the immediate task first.

’There’s no need to worry too much, though. A strike from the Golden Needle Technique isn’t something to be taken lightly. Its injury will take at least one or two months to heal. Even if it does want revenge, it won’t be able to act for another month or two. During this time, I can take advantage of the Wu Family Collection’s merchant caravan gathering to see if I can find a Magical Artifact or Magic that can counter it.’

Although he found it troublesome,

Shen Changchuan wasn’t panicked.

’At least this clash allowed me to figure out the Gale Falcon’s abilities. Now I have more detailed intelligence to use against it in the future, right?’

He would face his difficulties one step at a time.

There was always a way.